


Companion of Choice

by Kaerith



Series: The Trial of Bonding [1]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Jealousy, M/M, Pining, Plot Device Forest of Evergreens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaerith/pseuds/Kaerith
Summary: "You're very nice. The others I've met weren't. Did you know the last trainee didn't pick anyone?" Julian said."I promise that if you and I Bond you can do bard training. Would that make you happy?" Eskel caught the pleased look in the matrons' faces. Julian must be a favorite, Eskel inferred, though the witchers at the castle would never allow such a show of favoritism. It was obvious that these potential companions were raised much differently. He had been told that a companion was to keep witchers more human, so he supposed beating the emotions out of them like the trainees had been would defeat the purpose.
Relationships: Eskel & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Eskel/Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: The Trial of Bonding [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759012
Comments: 11
Kudos: 221
Collections: Witcher Kink Meme (Dreamwidth)





	Companion of Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhat inspired by the kink meme prompt: [Geralt/Jaskier, witcher/Jaskier Witchers have Pet](https://witcherkinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/429.html?thread=118189#cmt118189) that didn't take me to the dark place I was expecting to go.

Witchers weren't the only monsters made at Kaer Morhen. There were also Companions. Once a trainee passed the second Trial, he was taken to the thatched house that raised the potential companions. Like the trainees, the potential companions were unwanted children, both boys and girls. Also like the trainees, they learned to sleep outside and survive. Except for the Bonding, those were the only things witcher trainees and potential companions shared in their upbringing. 

When Eskel recovered from the Trial of Dreams, he was told to go to the house across the valley and choose a companion. 

Eskel could see why companions were more meanly referred to as "pets" by some witchers. The boys and girls tumbled over each other in giggling heaps, and had innocent (often somewhat empty, Eskel thought with distaste) eyes. The matrons, two women who looked as soft as Eskel's instructors looked hard, hurried to bring the children to order, and Eskel's recently improved hearing could hear echoes of "A Choosing!" The children sounded awed and excited, and Eskel immediately felt self-conscious, because no one had ever told him that this was something so important that it had a name. 

When he entered the fenced-in yard the children were lined up in a row. One of the women came up and smiled kindly at Eskel. "Welcome, dear. Stay as long as you like. This decision is very important, so take the time you need to get to know everyone. Boys and girls, introduce yourselves, please!" 

The eleven children were of various ages and were lined up from oldest to youngest. Eskel was immediately drawn to one boy somewhere in the middle who called himself Julian, though he was also struck by a girl named Alyce. After the introduction the women sent the children scattering, but most of them hung around watching Eskel. 

"I'm fourteen," Alyce said, approaching Eskel quickly. "I'm good at sewing and mending and the bow. Do you want to come with me while I hunt for something for dinner?" 

Eskel nodded, and they went off across the grassy field toward a stand of trees. 

After dinner Eskel approached Julian. The boy seemed shyer than Alyce, but something about his blue eyes intrigued Eskel. "Hi Julian, I'm Eskel. Do you mind if we talk?" 

The boy seemed a bit wary but pleased. "Of course. But I should warn you that everyone says I will never be chosen." 

"Why?" 

"Witchers are all supposed to be quiet and serious. I am not." 

"What do you mean?" 

"They say I talk too much," Julian admitted. "And that no witcher will want a babble-box on the Path. I will only bring danger to him. But I swear I do know how to shut up when it's important, so I wouldn't get you killed!" 

"I believe you," Eskel said with a kind smile that surprised both of them. He hadn't known that he still had compassion inside of him or that he could express it. It seemed to work, though, because he could hear the boy's heart beat begin to slow as he relaxed. "So tell me more about yourself." 

"I like to sing. I wanted to train to be a bard before my--" Julian shook his head and pushed down the sadness and anger that had been souring his scent. Eskel surmised that, like him, Julian hadn't come to Kaer Morhen because it was his choice. "And I am kind of clumsy when it comes to hunting. But I am good at finding and gathering herbs! And caring for wounds and the other kids when they get sick. You won't get sick, though," he added, with a bit of dismay. His eyes looked around as he searched his mind for more good things to say about himself. "The matrons both say I have stamina. And that I have good instincts, though I don't know what that means. Do you have any idea what that means? I know that everyone has instincts, but why would mine be different from everyone else's?" 

From across the room Alyce had been getting more and more impatient. She dared to break the rules and went to interrupt their conversation. Eskel could sense her coming close from behind him and watched Julian draw back in shame or fear as she approached. "Julian is a wimp," she said. 

Eskel calmly turned his head to address her. "Excuse me, but we were talking." 

She frowned. "That's all he does, you know. Talk. And sing." 

"I would like to hear a song, Julian," Eskel turned back to the boy. With that encouragement, Julian sat up straighter and set his jaw, and the witcher trainee was very pleased to see the boy stop shrinking back and regain his spirit. 

"Can we go outside? Just to the yard. I'll sing whatever you want." 

Eskel and Julian left the room, and Eskel caught the pleased look in the matrons' faces. He must be a favorite, Eskel inferred, though the witchers at the castle would never allow such a show of favoritism. It was obvious that these potential companions were raised much differently. He had been told that a companion was to keep witchers more human, so he supposed beating the emotions out of them like the trainees had been would defeat the purpose. 

Outside Julian sang to Eskel and it had been a long time since the trainee had heard anyone's voice sound so pretty. He liked it, and thought that was more important to him than a companion being able to kill a hare for supper. Eskel could easily hunt game, but he couldn't make his body tingle like Julian's voice could. He got goosebumps on his arms, and he hadn't had goosebumps since the Trial of the Grasses. 

"Would you like to be my companion?" Eskel asked. 

The boy's face lit up with excitement. "Really? You actually like me? You want me?" 

Eskel reached for his hand. "Yes. But you may not like me. You have to choose, too. It's important." 

Julian squeezed his hand, looking at where they touched with a bit of awe. "You're very nice. The others I've met weren't. Did you know the last trainee didn't pick anyone?" 

Eskel huffed a laugh, but it was more bitter than amused. "Geralt? They gave him extra mutations, and he's changed. He acts like he doesn't need anyone, but I think he's scared. He screams at night while he's asleep." 

Julian's eyes went round and gleamed with tears. "That's horrible. Do you have nightmares, too?" 

"Yes," Eskel admitted. 

"Me too. I know that being trained as a companion is a lot different, but my family wasn't very nice. The matrons here have been so much better." The boy went quiet, and Eskel waited because Julian still hadn't answered his question. "I do like you, but what are you planning on doing with me?" 

The question took Eskel by surprise. "What do you mean? We would go back to Kaer Morhen, stay together and do the Bonding, finish my training, then we will leave and explore and I will kill monsters." 

"I know. But what about me? Some of the others say that we are just gonna be slaves to our witchers. That they will beat us and rape us. Are you going to do that to me?" 

Eskel wasn't terribly surprised. Some of the witchers who called companions pets did treat them that way, and it had always made Eskel ashamed that everyone just accepted it. "No. I'm not like that, and I don't want that. If you weren't a companion, what would you want to do? Do you still want to be a bard?" 

Julian shrugged, but Eskel could see and smell the real answer. 

"I know you can't completely trust me, but I promise," Eskel said. "I promise that if you and I Bond, I will try to save money so that you can do bard training. It might take a few decades, but we will have the time if I don't get us killed. And even before then, I promise that you I will help you get what you need to teach yourself. Would that make you happy?" 

"Will you treat me bad?" Julian asked. "I mean, sorry, it's not a deal breaker because you'll have the right to do whatever you want, but... but I would like to know." 

"I don't hit anyone I'm not fighting. I get along with most people, and I like you. I promise that I will protect you and not hurt you." 

Julian looked at him and then grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Eskel. I like you too. Are you sure you don't want Alyce?" 

Eskel rolled his eyes. "She seems like a bitch. No." 

Julian suddenly bounced to his feet. "I've been Chosen!" He sang out. There were cheers and applause from inside the house. 

* * *

After the Trial of Bonding, where Julian underwent his own mutations with Eskel's blood along with magic that cleaved their souls into one, surviving the Trial of the Mountain was easy. The month-long sojourn in the wilderness of the Blue Mountains was mostly fun, and they felt like true partners whenever they provided food for a shared meal or snuggled together under their blankets. Eskel was seventeen and Julian sixteen, and they spent a lot of time exploring each other's bodies and learning about their own. 

They went back to the castle for the winter, and then set out on the Path that spring. Eskel kept his promise and bought Julian his first instrument after his first completed contract. It was a flute, the cheapest the merchant had, because Julian had begged Eskel to take an easy (thus, low-paying) job right off, but Julian made Eskel feel like he had bought him the most wonderful instrument in the world. 

Eskel also kept his promise not to hit him, even though his tenacity with the flute took a couple weeks of near-constant noise to resolve into anything that could be described as musical. 

* * *

Geralt didn't undergo the Trial of Bonding. He said that he didn't want a companion and he didn't, but mostly he didn't want to be strapped to Sad Albert again to be tortured and remade into something even less human. He was already a freak with his hair, and he would have traded the extra strength and senses and speed that had been forced upon him to be more like the other trainees. He didn't feel like a human, but he also didn't feel that kinship with the other trainees because the instructors had marked him as something _other_ and the boys who used to be his friends smelt of fear and disgust now. 

Eskel didn't. Eskel had been his closest friend. But once he chose his companion he was infatuated with the idiot with the soft hands who made noise all the time. (Geralt remembered him from when he had been made to go to the house with the thatched roof even though he had protested.) Geralt knew he was jealous, but at the same time couldn't interrupt Eskel's happiness with his companion to draw his attention to "Grumpy Geralt" as Eskel's companion Julian called him. 

Geralt took to eavesdropping on Eskel and Julian. He knew his interest in them was a weakness and that it was wrong to impinge on their private moments, but that particular pair had a connection that none of the other witchers and companions who came through the castle did. They didn't just fuck or fight-- they shared kind words and touches. Julian spent a lot of time crooning quietly to Eskel, and that hurt Geralt in a deep way that only made him crave to hear more. Everyone else at Kaer Morhen ignored their unusual behavior or teased them for it, but it didn't change as Eskel finished his training and won his medallion. Then they were sent off into the world like dandelion seeds, to grow strong or die at the whims of their skill, luck, and Destiny. 

Geralt had chosen to be alone, so he was going to abide by his choice. 

His first true regrets in his choice came during his first season on the Path. Geralt had thought that he was used to scorn and disgust, but the other trainees and full witchers at Kaer Morhen were welcoming in comparison with the humans he encountered. People spit on the ground as he passed, and every cat hissed and backed away from him like he was evil. He spent his first savings on a mare and ended up talking to her more frequently than what would probably be considered sane. 

When he went back to Kaer Morhen that first winter it was a relief. He was relieved to see that Eskel had also survived his first year, and tried to be more personable with him. Julian had lost some of his manic energy and could sit quietly without contributing to a conversation. He also didn't look at Geralt like he was a freak, had in fact been polite and even smiled at Geralt more than once. The smiles made something light up in his chest and made him want to give the companion something in return, so he found Julian once when he was alone and asked if Eskel was treating him well. Instead of endearing Geralt to him as the witcher had thought, Julian got angry and shouted until Geralt left the room, shaken and mortified. Eskel had later apologized on behalf of Julian, saying that the companion had thought Geralt was accusing Eskel of being abusive while Eskel knew that Geralt was simply concerned. But Julian stopped smiling at Geralt after that. 

Geralt had the bad luck of getting involved with influential people like royals and sorceresses, and he became the most famous of the younger witcher caste. That didn't endear him to many of his brothers. He decided that if he was fated to remain alone except for Roach, then he would at least amass wealth because his notoriety meant that he could charge more than the others. So he had a decent nest egg in the Vivaldi Bank by the age of forty. That was also probably another thing that made him alien to other witchers. 

Julian still seemed to hate him, but Geralt only grew more fixated on Eskel's companion. He wasn't one of the weak terrified pets or one of the strong warrior companions and seemed to be in a class of his own. Eskel let him laze about and sing and strum his lute, but Julian was quick to help anyone he liked do their chores or settle them with some music or a massage. 

Geralt was never offered a massage, of course. He did find himself fantasizing about receiving one when he jerked off. No one liked to touch him. 

He overheard a rare argument between Julian and Eskel. Eskel was apologizing for not being able to fulfill a promise he had made, and Julian was refusing to blame him. "I don't need to go to a fancy academy to learn how to be a bard. I am happy with you, and I am still managing to learn and practice and write songs on my own." 

Still, Eskel seemed to be distraught. "I made a promise to you. I will work harder to earn money, and between the two of us we can maintain my equipment so that it doesn't need to be replaced." 

"I am not letting you fight monsters when your armor will fall apart and your swords have gone brittle with too much sharpening," Julian returned. "I would throw away all of my music to keep you safe." 

"I would throw away my life to give you the knowledge and fame you deserve," Eskel swore, which only made his companion angrier. 

The next winter Geralt gave Eskel his bank account. "It's just a few hundred crowns," he lied. "I have no need of it." 

He didn't go to Kaer Morhen the next winter, but he heard that Eskel and Julian didn't either. Geralt avoided them and the castle for the next several years. He met Yennefer and found some semblance of love, though she would never be a companion. They were too strong-willed and volatile to stay side-by-side, and only met up a few times a year. He grew accustomed to the thought of staying alone until he died. 

* * *

Julian didn't like Geralt. He knew that he had been Eskel's close friend before his mutations had changed him, but the guy lurked around and didn't seem to talk at all. 

Eskel said that Geralt was afraid of being hurt again, that his extra attributes had come at a high cost of pain and alienation, but Julian only saw a terse, bad-tempered asshole. 

When Geralt had talked to Julian just to accuse Eskel of mistreating him, Julian decided that he wasn't going to play nice. He would glare at the white-haired witcher whenever he caught him watching them. Eskel sighed, but couldn't talk Julian out of his vendetta. 

Eskel had told him that Geralt had given them money-- lots of money-- for the purpose of sending Jaskier to a bardic academy, and Julian didn't see any reason not to take it. He trained at Oxenfurt for two years on that money, and then for another three years with the earnings he made as a popular bard supplementing what was left. He had innate talent, his teachers said, and the intelligence and willingness to work hard that was even less common among musicians. Living in Oxenfurt did mean that he saw Eskel much less, but his witcher fully supported Julian taking the time to develop his talents and reputation. By the time Julian had completed all of the seven liberal arts and was known across the Continent as the Bard Jaskier, Eskel was happy to let him continue to be a professor at the university for months at a time. 

By then Eskel had acquired a Child of Surprise, and years later when her life was in danger Julian was in Oxenfurt when Eskel needed him most. 

It was Geralt who made their reunion possible.

**Author's Note:**

> The next station is Eskel/Jaskier with a side of friendly Geralt. Are there any passengers who want to stay on to a final destination of Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier?


End file.
